Recipe of Spicy Prawns Vadai – A perfect combination with tea

Vadai or Vada is a very common South Indian snack. There are different types of vadais such as Uzhunnu vadai, parippu vadai, ully vadai etc. In this article I am going to explain about a non vegetarian vadai, that is chemmeen vadai or Prawns Vadai. Go through it and enjoy cooking it as well as having it.

Chemmeen Vada/Prawns Vadai

Here is the recipe of the hot and spicy Prawns vadai to make your evenings even better. It is a yummy snack that almost all seafood lovers will like. Even if you are not very fond of seafood, I am sure you will love this snack due to its high odour and tempting appearance and taste. After reading itself, you feel liking trying it once, isn't it?

Prawns vadai is an easy to make tasty snack but I agree that it is slightly expensive as Prawns are charged at the higher end. Not to worry, as you are making it only once in a while and moreover the taste is worth the money you pay for it. It is an enjoyable snack for the whole family but remember to reduce the spice content if you have children at home. Now, let us get into the ingredients and method of preparation.

Ingredients for Prawns Vadai

After going through the below mentioned ingredients, you will be happy as you can find everything in your kitchen except for Prawns. Some may even have that too. If not, rush to the nearby market and get all of them and try this delicious fritter.

Prawns (Medium Size) : 20 Nos
Ginger : ½ Piece
Garlic : 5 – 6 Cloves
Green Chillies : 3-4 Nos
Shallots : 6 Nos
Curry Leaves : 1 Sprig
Turmeric Powder : A Pinch
Chilly Powder : ½ Tblsp
Salt : To Taste
Coconut Oil : As Required

Method of Preparation

Remove the covering shell and clean the prawns well. Keep them aside, to drain of the excess water content.

Meanwhile chop the garlic, ginger and shallots. Then use of the blender to make a paste out of these by adding curry leaves as well.

Once a coarse paste is formed, add the prawns to it and blend once again so that everything gets mixed well.

Transfer the paste into a bowl and add turmeric powder, salt and chilly powder to it. Mix well so that the powder gets gelled with the paste.

Now grease your palms with coconut oil and make small ten to twelve balls out of the paste. You will also have to slightly flatten the balls by pressing it with your two palms. This helps to get the exact vadai look.

Take a frying pan and heat it. Now pour the coconut oil to it. Once the oil is heat and ready to be cooked, get the balls deep fried. Once it gets a golden brown colour, off the flame and serve hot.

You can serve the hot and spicy Prawns vadai with tomato ketchup or chutney and a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Tips and Tricks to be Noted

Apart from the above method of preparation, there are some more factors you need to consider in-order to make slight alterations in the snack.

It is a spicy snack, hence you can add on the number of green chillies depending upon your taste level. Here I have added chilli powder as well. But adding chilli powder gives a slight darker colour to the vadai. If you want the exact golden colour, then stick on to green chillies itself. You may also add pepper powder to enhance the heat level. Pepper is healthier than chillies and chilli powder.

The Prawns vadai is not a very smooth snack, hence do not blend well the prawns. You can blend nicely the ginger and garlic or else you may use the ginger garlic paste as well. People who hate garlic can avoid it but they must compromise on the taste.

You can use any kind of cooking oil of your choice instead of coconut oil. Here I have used coconut oil as I prefer its odour and taste. Cooking in cholesterol free oil or olive oil will be a healthier choice. Also do not forget to wipe off the excess oil in the fritters by using kitchen oil papers.

If you are not comfortable using your palms to make the flatten spheres, you may use foil paper, clean green leaves or plastic paper. Once you get the shape, you can easily remove it and put it in the heat oil for frying. However I do not recommend plastic paper as even though it is easy, it is not a healthy choice.

While frying the vadai, be sure to cook it in medium flame so that the prawn gets cooked well. You may also use a lid to cover the pan for a few minutes so that the inside will get cooked well.